


Christmas Eve: A Patrol and A...

by QueenPunk



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU, DCU (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Humor, Jaytim secret santa 2017, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-28 16:03:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13274991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenPunk/pseuds/QueenPunk
Summary: Jason has a gift to give Tim, but it appears that this night is just refusing to go his way.





	Christmas Eve: A Patrol and A...

**Author's Note:**

  * For [noir_paladin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/noir_paladin/gifts).



> This is my gift to noir-wing for JayTim Secret Santa. I tried to base this story around your prompt of Jason trying to give Tim a gift. I hope you enjoy this and I hope you had a lovely holiday!

Jason had a plan. It was a great plan. A beautiful plan. A romantic plan. 

A plan that was ruined when he arrived at Tim’s apartment, a fist lifted to knock on the mahogany door like a gentlemen who did not usually swing in through the window attached to the balcony. Before he could even wrap his knuckles against the hardwood, the door swung open to reveal an irritated looking Tim. 

He glared up at the fist that was only a few inches from his face and snapped into the cell phone, cradled between his ear and his shoulder, “Jason’s here already. Uh-huh. Yep. I’ll tell him. I know you’re sorry about this, Dick. You’ve said it thirty seven times. I’ve been keeping track. I’ve gotta go if I’m gonna be able to cover the route. Tell Babs and Alfred happy holidays for me. Tell everyone else to go fuck themselves. Yes, that includes you.”

“That language, babybird,” Jason appraised, trying to not twitch nervously as the door slammed shut behind him. “It’s impressive.”

Hanging up on Dick, Tim flung his phone away and turned on his heel to stalk into his bedroom. Jason followed behind him, feeling a bit like a lovestruck puppy. 

“I know we had plans,” Tim began as he stripped his sweatshirt off and dropped it onto the floor. He unlocked the secret compartment next to his dresser and pulled out the silver case that contained one of his uniforms. “But apparently, every other person in our family is too busy to patrol tonight. So, three guesses as to what we’re gonna be doing.”

The plan was smashed into pieces and Jason was left floundering as he cracked a wide grin and asked,” I dunno, Timmy. We going to do the hula on a Hawaiian cruise?” 

Kicking his sweatpants off, Tim rolled his eyes, “A little off there, Jay. Context clues can help.”

“Babybird,” Jason wrapped his arms around Tim’s midsection. He pressed a quick kiss to the back of his neck, the long black hairs tickling his nose. He thought about just getting it over with. Slipping the present to Tim and seeing his reaction. The location--whether it be their favorite restaurant or Tim’s fucking mess of a bedroom--shouldn’t matter.

But…

Jason had a plan. That plan would have to be adjusted to fit the new parameters of the mission. He could do that. He let out a long, drawn out sigh, “I was so looking forward to stuffing my face with pizza and chili dogs.”

Tim twisted out of his grasp and tossed the red helmet that was tucked away in the back of the secret compartment into Jason’s waiting hands. “We can pick up chili dogs while we’re out.”

“It’s not the same,” Jason faux-whined as he went into the closet and discretely transferred the contents of his pocket from one leather jacket to the other, armor-padded one. “Which route are we taking?”

“The one that follows the river and ends at Dixon Docks before looping back.”

“That’s...not a problem area. Do we really have to go?”

“I think Flamebird is working the other side of Gotham tonight,” Tim said. “It’s all part of keeping the wealthy criminals on their toes when they see us swing past their skyrises. And then scaring the crap out of would-be smugglers at the docks.”

The scenic route, he mentally noted. Perfect for the plan, now he just had to pick a location.

………………………...

Gotham at night during the holidays was a sight to behold. Lights strung across rooftops and threaded through window ledge bars, glittering white and red and green and yellow. Attached to telephone poles were light designs of mistletoe and reindeer and angels and Santa. Store windows were filled with silver and gold tinsel, their entrances marked with plastic candy canes and large nutcrackers. 

Of course, this was the richer side of town, but Jason knew from experience that even in the Bowery and Crime Alley the bars and run down apartment buildings made an attempt to be festive. Painted soft drink bottles with faux flames inside were placed next to windows, tiny plastic Christmas trees were tucked away on kitchen tops and coffee tables. All the festive sights from his childhood when life seemed not quite as shitty when you had a warm home to go to. When he had to live out in the freezing snow and the piercing wind, those sights had felt mocking. 

Now, Jason was not trying to focus on the past. Now, while flying through the streets, Jason was contemplating his situation. 

Looking at Tim soaring in front of him, his dark hair speckled with stray snowflakes, body arching and straining with fluid weightlessness--Jason knew he needed to make this as perfect as he could. With them gliding in tandem over the cityscape, he wished he could bottle the feeling of flight into one perfect moment.

Jason was just thinking about flinging the present at Tim’s head mid-leap--Tim was always aware of his surrounding, so he would most likely catch it--when…

He hit a billboard.

Batman trained since the age of twelve. 

League trained as a barely sentient zombie. 

Internationally trained by dozens of the best assassins and other miscellaneous masters.

And still, Jason Todd rammed into a Coca-Cola billboard while flying down a route he had had memorized since he was Robin. 

“Hood?!” Tim called in a panic as he swung back. “Are you hurt?”

Just his pride. And his bones ached with the reverberations from being hit by a solid structure while wearing unspecified pounds of body armor. With his hood still vibrating from the impact, he managed to groan out, “Yep, I’m good. Just give me a sec.”

He made a big show out of patting his body from head to toe--discreetly feeling for the present in his pocket, breathing a sigh of relief when it was still there--before rolling over and standing up with an exaggerated shoulder roll.

“Do you need glasses?” Tim asked, tapping a foot against the metal grate. “Eye surgery?”

“No, babybird. I just got a bit distracted staring at your sweet as--”

Tim kicked his knee lightly to shut hip up, no doubt rolling his eyes behind his mask, “Sure, yeah. I’ll believe that. But keep your eyes on the sky for now and then you can look at my ass for as long as you want later when we’re not eight stories up.”

Well, at least Jason had that to look forward to.

…………………………

If there couldn't be peace on Earth for one night, then there should at least be peace in Gotham for one night. 

They didn't encounter anything suspicious until they were closer to the docks. An ancient two-story toy store that looked a bit run down for being so close to a district of skyscrapers. Except for the cheerful, colorful lights that decorated the store window to showcase the novelty holiday toys, there shouldn’t have been any source of light in the shop. The beam of a flashlight had pulsed through the darkness of the back of the store, drawing their attention.

“Who robs a toy store on Christmas Eve?” Tim muttered with a shake of his head. 

“Either people who are heartless or desperate,” Jason pointed out, switching the vision of his hood to peer into the second story windows. “But seeing as their going straight for the register and just trashing the place, I'm placing my bets on heartless.”

“You take the one that’s upstairs,” Tim suggested. “I’ll get the two that are downstairs.”

“As you wish,” Jason grinned, switching his vision back as he headed in for the kill. Figuratively, of course. These guys were much too small to bother with the big guns. 

He took out the one robber easily, landing behind him and knocking the dumbass out with one hit to the back of the neck. No need for flashy dramatics tonight.

Jason could hear Tim’s targets dropping to the floor downstairs. It was almost depressing how easy this was, it would have been nice if they could have had their blood pumping with adrenaline and he could have whipped out the present at the end when Tim was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily over a pile of unconscious bodies and then they could have made out (or done more than make out) on a rooftop for the rest of the night.

The floor creaked under his weight as he made his way towards the stairs, dragging the recently cuffed robber by his collar. The crook let out a loud groan, muttering incoherently under his breath. Jason was preparing to make some sort of loud and scathing remark mocking about, well, it doesn't really matter. Because one second, Jason was standing upright and the next there was a loud crack and the section underneath his feet caved in. 

In a moment of crystal clear clarity amidst free falling, Jason managed to swing the crook onto stable ground before he crashed completely through the floor. He grabbed his grappling hook and shot it towards the roof. Which, typically would have worked but apparently the ceiling of the building was just a buildup of a thousand years of dust. The grip didn't hold.

He fell.

Thankfully, it was on his feet even though the landing was hell on his knees. He darted out of range from the falling debris, nearly running into an exasperated Tim. 

“If you make an ‘I keep falling for you’ joke, I'm gonna hit you with my bo,” Tim informed him.

Unable to resist, Jason grabbed him by the waist, swinging him around into a dip. Tim, remaining stoic but pliant under Jason’s actions, wrapped his arm around Jason’s neck. 

Feeling cheesy as fuck, his cheeks heating up under the hood, Jason crooned, “Well, baby, you make it just so easy to fall for you every second of everyday.”

Tim cracked a small smile, chuckling, “You’re ridiculous. We have to get the police to pick these guys up. Can I trust you not to do any more falling until I'm done with calling them? Or for the rest of the night? If you keep this up--”

Straightening them up, but keeping his hands firmly on Tim’s waist, “Don’t worry about it. I’m just having a bit of bad luck tonight.”

“And you’re,” Tim paused, licking his lips. “Distracted. By something.”

“Yeah, y--”

One of the robbers cut him off with a whine, her voice sounding tortured as she asked, “Can’t y’all deal with your lovebird drama on your own time? Or take us to jail or something first so I don't have to hear this sappy shit?”

Soon. Jason he would give Tim his gift soon, even though the nerves in his stomach seemed to be growing by the minute.

…………………………

The docks were unfairly romantic at night, with Gotham’s permanent full moon rippling in the water and snow blanketing every available surface. The usual fishy smell that permeated the air during every other day of the year was blessedly absent and the stray cats that hated Jason were hiding away from the cold. 

Instead of sticking to jumping along the shipping containers and scaling the warehouses, Tim led him into the winding labyrinth of the shipyard--citing that sneaking in from below would be more unexpected, but when they reached the river walk he kept off course towards one of the piers. 

“During the day,” Tim mused as they walked along the creaking wooden planks--which made Jason twitch nervously much to Tim’s amusement. “This place is so-”

“Gross? Filled with litter and rotting fish guts? Crawling with creepy weirdos?” Jason suggested helpfully. 

“I was going to be nicer about it, but yeah. All of that. Although, you should be nicer to the creepy weirdos.”

“Why?”

“You shouldn’t be insulting yourself like that, Hood,” Tim said with a sly smile, reaching over to twine their fingers together in a firm grip. 

“You think you’re being cute there, babybird?” Jason laughed, bats fluttering angrily in his ribcage.

“I know I’m being cute,” Tim answered, tugging him further along. “I’m always cute. I'm adorable.”

They were standing at the edge of the pier, the waves lapping gently beneath them. The moonlight bathed Tim’s dark edges and the planes of his face in a glow and Jason wanted to slip that mask off to see how those quicksilver eyes would crystallize in color to match the cold. His thin lips were quirked at the edges in a private joke that Jason wanted to kiss out of him. He wanted to do a lot of things to and with Tim but right then and there he knew that the time had come. 

Holding Tim’s hands tighter, Jason intended to spin on his heels and end up directly in front of his partner. 

He miscalculated how close they were to the edge of the pier.

He also should have factored in that the edge of the pier had no barricade.

Christmas in Gotham sucked, Jason decided as he breached the surface just as Tim dived in after him. And that the temperature of the water in Gotham was horrendously below zero degrees.

………………………...

“Have fun on patrol?” Damian snickered, looking irritatingly cozy as he lounged in Batman’s high-backed black computer chair. 

Jason, dripping river water onto the concrete floor as he trudged towards the showers, snarled out a, “Fuck off.” 

“Didn’t you have somewhere to be tonight?” Tim practically hissed, keeping pace with Jason.

………………………...

After a long and blistering shower, Jason and Tim were curled up underneath thick blankets in front of one of the mayor’s many fireplaces. Cups filled to the brim with hot cocoa were held like lifelines in their hands. At their feet, Ace and Titus were curled up, sleeping except for when they suspected a drop of their drinks had fallen.

Tim nuzzled against Jason’s neck, the tip of his nose brushing against his pulse point. Jason took a deep sip of his cocoa as Tim pressed a soft kiss against his earlobe, murmuring softly, “My answer is yes, by the way.”

Jason froze. A minnie marshmallow lodged itself against one of his back molars and he tried to ask around the sugary taste, “Yes to what?”

“To this,” Tim answered, almost shyly as he reached into his own plaid pajama bottom pockets and pulled out a small, black box. 

“Where…? What the fuck Tim, when did you take that from me?”

“I felt it in your pocket when you dipped me,” Tim admitted, tucking a damp strand of his hair behind his ear. “And I snuck it out when I went after you in the water.”

He turned it over and over in his fingers, flicking the lid open with his thumb. Resting unassumingly in a swathe of red satin was a simple rose-gold band. It was thick in width and lacked traditional ornamentation, but Jason has picked it out cause it looked like it could take a good beating or be involved in a beating without too much wear and tear.

“Jay? If I knew agreeing to this would shut you up I would have done it myself ages ago,” Tim chuckled after a few minutes of flabbergasted silence.

Finding his voice, Jason managed to croak out, “You sure about this, Babybird? I mean it can't exactly be legally binding considering I'm technically still dead and I can return it--”

“Jason Todd, if you take this ring away from me I will destroy every single one of your safehouses,” Tim threatened and Jason wasn't sure if he was kidding. “Now, are you gonna put this ring on me or am I gonna do it myself?”

Jason snatched the box out of Tim’s hands, the lid snapping shut on the skin of his palm with a small sting. His hands were shaking as he reopened in, his throat dry as he slipped the heavy ring onto Tim’s slender finger. It was a little big, Tim pressing his pinky against the metal to spin and catch the light given off by the flickering flames.

Unable to resist any more, Jason surged forward and pressed his lips to Tim’s. He forgot about the plans he had made of superficial romance. He forgot about the disaster of a night they had just had. Jason only thought about the man pressed against him and how lucky they were to be together.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are much appreciated and keep me writing!


End file.
